


Impact

by Macx



Series: Seismic [8]
Category: Tremors: The Series
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-12
Updated: 2011-05-12
Packaged: 2017-10-19 07:49:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/198578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macx/pseuds/Macx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something's going on with El Blanco. Something weird. Something far off the normal behavior pattern...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Impact

 

 

Burt Gummer stood atop the large rock, sweeping the area with his binoculars. There wasn't a sign of El Blanco anywhere.  
"Tyler, come in. Burt here," he spoke into his walkie-talkie.  
"Yeah, I read you, over. Any sign of El Blanco?"  
"Negative."  
"Haven't seen that worm around my positions either. Over."  
Burt frowned. "Keep vigilant," he advised. "I'm moving to the next coordinates. Over."  
"Roger that. Tyler out."  
Twelve hours ago, an Air Force surveillance plane had first lost height, then crash-landed right in the middle of Perfection Valley. It had been on the way back from a brief test flight and had been heading for the Nevada Test Site not far from here. Burt's seismo monitors had registered the crash – just before all the geophones in the valley had died.  
Everyone was now completely deaf and blind when it came to seismic activity, namely El Blanco. No one knew exactly what had been on the plane, but whatever it was, it had managed to knock every single surveillance system out of line. Burt's painstakingly maintained alarms were useless now.  
Burt had muttered and cursed the Air Force, had ranted to Twitchell about stupid pilots and government surveillance on their little town, until he had headed out to repair their only insurance against a surprise attack by their endangered Graboid, the geophones. He and Tyler had split up to reset the system of each device, the only way to get the system back up again.  
Twitchell in turn had told them that the Air Force wanted their plane back; or what was left of it. Their pilot had ejected when it had become clear that the plane was about to crash, but his SOS signal had suddenly disappeared. Burt suspected he had become victim to El Blanco.  
Even now, the Air Force was setting up camp in Perfection, waiting for Burt and Tyler to finish resetting the system so they could safely move throughout the valley.  
Burt grumbled to himself as he put down the binoculars. As much as he despised doing this for a government group, it was also primarily for their own good, for Perfection. His home town.  
The truck was parked close by, just as a precaution in case of a worm attack. Since the rock had been higher than the truck, he had taken it as a vantage point to check for any movement. So far, El Blanco hadn't shown a single tentacle. Gummer climbed carefully down the rock.  
He was about thirty centimeters off the ground when something shot out of the desert earth and wrapped itself around his ankle with incredible speed and precision. Burt didn't have time to even scream as his leg was practically yanked out from under him, as his hip collided with the side of the rock, and he was suddenly thrown onto the hard, packed ground with a force that winded him. The binoculars had gone flying, landing next to the half-dome cap of the geophone, bouncing once.  
Burt gasped for air as his depressed lungs inflated, sucking in the vital oxygen, and for precious seconds he saw blackness, combined with the sharp pain of no air. It passed within maybe three seconds, but those were normally fatal seconds.  
There was a hissing sound, always associated with the small, fanged mouths at the end of a Graboid's tentacle, and to his horror he saw and felt it still wrapped around his calf, all the way up to the knee. The pressure was bad, holding him like a vice, but not strong enough to break the bone. The fang-like teeth were just hovering above his knee cap.  
He was jerked away from the rock, yelling in pain and surprise. His fingers clawed helplessly at the ground as panic set in. There was no one around, no Tyler to shoot the worm or scare him off with a concussion grenade.  
He was alone.  
He would die.  
The cold realization hit something deep inside of him. Despite the many close encounters, there had always been a last minute way to safety, something wild and outrageous. Now… now there was only certainty.  
Another jerk.  
And then the grip loosened and the tentacle slid away.  
Back into the ground... leaving only a small hole where it had been.  
Burt was frozen in shock and disbelief, not even aware of the pain of strained muscles in his leg --  
\-- only to give a yell of terror and surprise when the ground parted as the massive, armored head of El Blanco pushed through. Burt scrambled back and bumped hard into the rock face behind him. Eyes wide, mouth open he watched the spectacle he had seen so many times.  
The Graboid reared up, then, like a trained whale, rested its upper half on the ground. The eyeless head seemed to stare at him. The large mouth opened and it rumbled, the three-part lower jaw clicking open and closed. The snake-like tentacles remained inside the maw. El Blanco moved his head from side to side, pushing dust and small rocks aside, creating a kind of shallow depression. It reminded Burt of a cat marking its territory with its scent glands. The noises coming from the creature were close to a growl.  
Burt just stared at the huge animal, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. Again, El Blanco opened his jaws, clicking the armored parts together, making noise. He was barely three meters away, close enough to swallow Burt if he chose to, too close for Gummer to make it up the rock in time.  
An eternity seemed to pass as Graboid and Graboid hunter gazed at each other, one blind and deaf, the other shocked into silence, unable to understand what he was witnessing. El Blanco huffed, dust pluming all around him, the leathery skin rippling with muscle movement.  
Burt heard his heart hammering in his ears, the blood rushing by, and he sat still, not moving a muscle. The creature had had him; it knew where he was!  
El Blanco made a snorting noise, rumbling, sounding almost like a broken generator.  
And then he slid back into the hole he had created. Slowly, almost deliberately slow, making deep, rattling sounds.  
Burt felt like all his muscles were inoperative, and his eyes were rooted to the huge hole where El Blanco had just been. Then the tremors started; not in the ground but inside him.  
Delayed shock, part of him thought.  
El Blanco had sat and waited for him right next to the rock.  
For him.  
He had come closer slowly; not hunting… sneaking. He had… stalked him?  
And Burt was alive. Bruised and shook up, but alive. He had been caught by a Graboid and… released?  
Breathing hard, close to panting, Gummer finally made it back to his feet, almost too shaky to stand. He had been swallowed by a Graboid once and it had been terrifying, but this experience just now… it had been worse.  
It had been a demonstration of power.

* * *

Jodi Chang was glad to see the seismo monitor come back online and she breathed a sigh of relief. No one had actually realized how much they depended on Burt's geophones until a day ago everything had gone down. Tyler had finished his batch of seismic equipment to reboot a while ago and had returned to the garage to get a change of clothes. Burt hadn't been in yet, but no one was really worried. He was probably checking on a few more things. El Blanco was nowhere near Perfection and Tyler hadn't picked him up either.  
When the door to the store opened, Jodi looked up automatically, also automatically registering that it was Burt and she returned to her work.  
For a whole ten seconds.  
Something was wrong.  
Jodi looked up again and frowned at the almost stony expression on the man's face, and it deepened when she discovered what he was taking off the shelves.  
A bottle of whiskey.  
Without a word, he turned and left. Limping slightly. And he looked rather… disheveled. Then again, this was Burt; disheveled wasn't something to be worried about since he spent so much time outdoors. Still, the expression and the limp combined with the alcohol…  
"I'll put it on your tab," Jodi murmured, mystified.  
Burt didn't drink, at least not the heavy stuff…  
She hurried over to the window and saw him heading over to Tyler's place. Something was wrong… but what?  
At least he was heading in the right direction, she thought.

* * *

Tyler had showered and changed, and was walking around his bedroom barefooted and with his shirt hanging loosely over his pants when Burt entered.  
"Hey, Burt. What…?" The words died on his lips as he took in the chalky white face and the troubled eyes.  
And the already partially empty whiskey bottle.  
"Burt? What's wrong?"  
"He didn't eat me," Burt murmured and fell heavily onto the bed, eyes staring straight ahead.  
"What?"  
"He caught me… he didn't eat me."  
Gummer took a swig from the bottle, which was frightening enough. Tyler had never seen his lover drink anything but beer. Not even in Juniper; that had been beer, too.  
"What're you talking about, Burt? Who didn't eat you?" And then Tyler's brain kicked in. "El Blanco?!"  
"The worm," Burt muttered, nodding.  
"You were caught by El Blanco?!"  
"Got me. Waited for me. Stalked me. Wham! Caught my leg and pulled me off the rock."  
Tyler was beyond surprise now; he was quickly sliding into disbelief. "El Blanco waited for you and caught you?" he echoed.  
Gummer nodded. "Didn't eat me."  
As glad as Tyler was to see his lover alive and whole, it didn't make any sense. Graboids never released their prey…  
"Why?" he blurted.  
"He came out of the ground. Just a few meters away. And he sat there, as if he could see me, and he did nothing," Burt whispered, clearly shell-shocked. "Like… like he wanted to tell me that he could, if he wanted to... and chose not to."  
"That's ridiculous!"  
Dark, almost haunted eyes met Tyler's. "They're intelligent, Tyler. Learning curve. Past experience proves that. They have memory. And he knows me. He knows me…"  
"But he has never snuck up on anyone!"  
"He never caught and released anyone either."  
Tyler sat down next to Burt, prying the cold fingers from the bottle – and took a swallow himself before putting it down onto the floor.  
"Why?" he murmured again, stunned.  
Burt closed his eyes and shook his head. "In any other context, between two men, I'd say it's a demonstration of power. He could have killed me easily, he consciously chose not to."  
"Maybe he knows we protect him?" Tyler rallied for another explanation. "I mean when Dr. Bergen poisoned him, he came here to either die or maybe hope for help from us."  
Burt was silent, studying the floor. "He could have gotten rid of me… he didn't," he murmured again.  
Tyler sat with his lover for a long time, just to be there, his mind awhirl with this new development. If El Blanco could tell them apart… if he had a memory for them… if he had really chosen not to kill Burt, just demonstrate he could if he wanted to... it was a whole new ballgame.  
A whole damn new ballgame.

* * *

His world had turned upside down. Burt Gummer sat in Chang's Market as Jodi, Rosalita and Nancy pummeled him with questions, answering them almost dispassionately, distractedly, while his mind went over the events of yesterday afternoon – even while he related them to the three women. Tyler heard the story for the first time in its full length too, but he didn't say much. He was a supportive, silent rock at his side. Burt was glad for it.  
El Blanco had caught him.  
He had released him.  
He hadn't eaten him.  
"I don't believe it," Jodi muttered, shaking her head. "Maybe it was something on you, Burt. Maybe you stepped into something or used some kind of weapons oil or powder…?"  
"No."  
He had thought about it, too. Graboids ate everything, so a little gun oil wouldn't put him off.  
"We should talk to Casey," Tyler finally spoke up. "She's studied everything in this valley for a long time now. She might be able to help us."  
Burt pushed back his chair, still drawn between shock, disbelief and surprise. "You do that. I need to check my gear."  
The door to the store opened and Burt groaned. W.D. Twitchell smiled briefly.  
"I'm not any happier than you, Gummer," he said in ways of a greeting. "But it's my job and that job includes coming by and see for myself no one got eaten. It's been too quiet lately."  
"I thought you'd be happy about that," Jodi commented. "Hey, those aren't for free!" she immediately protested as Twitchell took a packet of nuts.  
"Yeah, yeah. They should be." Twitchell loosened his tie a little, looking hot and sweaty already. "This desert air will kill me one day."  
"Good," Burt muttered and pushed past him.  
He left the other four alone at the table, needing to get out of this enclosed space, back into his own enclosed space. Back behind his safety walls and to his surveillance gear.  
Something was wrong with that Graboid and he would find the reason.  
Twitchell shot him an annoyed look, then walked over to the coffee bar counter. "You got something cold?"  
"You got money?" Jodi fired back at him.  
He sighed and dug out his wallet, giving her a five dollar bill. She grabbed it out of his hand.  
"Thank you," was the sweet reply and a glass of ice tea was placed in front of him.  
"Hey, what about change?"  
"This includes the nuts and the popsicle from last week."  
Twitchell glared and drank from the glass.  
"So, Twitch," Tyler started, walking over to their government agent. "What brings you here?"  
"My job, like I said. I don't hear something from you, I get suspicious."  
"Everything's just fine," Jodi chimed.  
"That is highly suspicious."  
Tyler gave him an innocent smile. "You sound more and more like Burt. Must be rubbin' off on you."  
Twitchell just glared and the others tried to hide their smiles. No one would tell Twitchell a word about what had truly happened out there today.

* * *

Dr. Casey Matthews listened to Tyler's words with wide eyes and an expression of total bewilderment. She had been pleasantly surprised at her visitor, who sometimes dropped by to have a chat or two throughout the week. Tyler, like others living in Perfection, had accepted the presence of the lab after a while. Even Burt used the complex when he needed a scientific answer to a new phenomenon now. He hadn't dropped his initial wariness when it came to scientists, but he had accepted Casey and Roger as part of his 'territory'. And the man was territorial!  
"No one's ever heard of a Graboid releasing its prey!" she finally blurted after Tyler had finished relating the events of yesterday afternoon. "That's… unprecedented!"  
Tyler nodded tiredly. He looked like he hadn't slept the last night and what happened to Burt had not only Burt completely at a loss; it had Tyler worried. The handsome face showed lines were there hadn't been any before, and his gray eyes held an expression of residual shock. Burt had just about escaped with his life – because El Blanco had released him of his own free will.  
"Yep, and it's severely freaking us out. All of us."  
She nodded. Burt most of all, she suspected. He hadn't come along for this briefing and Tyler had said something about him checking the rebooted geophones and things.  
"Understandable. I'll look into it. I can browse through all the articles and reports about Graboid behavior, and I'll check my data on what happened in this valley yesterday."  
"Thanks."  
"No problem. This is something amazing."  
"I'd call it freaky."  
Casey smiled. "Would you have preferred El Blanco eating him?"  
"No, of course not!" Tyler immediately replied, horrified.  
"So it's amazing, not freaky."  
He sighed and shrugged. "Whatever."  
"Tell Burt I'm glad he's okay. I'll get back to you the moment I have something, okay?"  
He gave her a wan smile. "Okay."  
Ten minutes later he was on his way back to town. Casey turned to her work, mentally shaking her head at the news. This was unbelievable!

* * *

In the next few days, Burt checked everything, from geological data to the climate and even the moon phase on the day El Blanco hadn't eaten him. Nothing exceptional. He painstakingly followed the path of every tourist who had been in this valley for the last month; everyone had to register at Chang's Market and put down his hiking trails. Nothing outstanding. He did a head count on Rosalita's cattle. None missing. There had been no dangerous goods transports, nothing new, nothing exciting.  
Except the plane crash.  
Twitchell nearly threw a fit when Burt inquired into what had been on that plane – and had clamped up. In the end Burt had done something he wasn't proud of – he had used his Army connections. It was against his believes, but he needed an explanation as to why the Graboid had behaved as he had.  
But the gear aboard the crashed plane had been simple radio surveillance equipment, strong enough to knock out his geophones when the system had overloaded as the plane had crashed, but nothing extraordinary. And the pilot El Blanco had eaten hadn't been special either.  
So what had it been?  
It became an obsession, one he didn't even realize he was developing. He spent all his time at the bunker or out in the field, saw little of the town or his lover, and it still yielded no results. And with each negative answer, his frustration grew.  
Tyler was there; he registered his presence. He knew his lover was as frightened by the new development as he, but Burt saw this whole incident as a personal affront. He had studied Graboids for over ten years. He had fought them, blown them to pieces, hunted them down. He had eradicated Shriekers and Assblasters. He knew those things, how they acted and reacted, how fast they learned – and nothing the like had ever happened before. Nothing!  
Something new had developed and he didn't like it.  
So he was pushing everything away, buried himself in his obsession – without having any success or coming a step closer to a possible solution.  
In those days, El Blanco didn't behave any differently than ever before. He regularly passed through the town, he kept the tourists happy – and money came in.  
"Maybe we'll never know," Tyler said as they sat together in the truck, Burt checking his gear.  
"That's unacceptable!" Burt growled.  
"It's an animal, Burt. We know little about it except for the few things scientists have been able to come up with from the remains and the encounters."  
"And what those encounters teach us is that Graboids are aggressive predators! They don't let go of their food!"  
"Maybe he was already full," Reed tried, smiling with dark humor. "I mean, he had had a pilot before."  
Burt shot him one of those looks. "Then he wouldn't have hunted."  
Tyler shrugged. "You might just have to accept it in the end."  
"I won't."  
And then Dr. Matthews called.

* * *

Casey looked at the tense man standing in front of her, arms crossed over his chest, eyes burning with the need to know the answer. She had heard from Tyler how Burt had followed even the unlikeliest solution to the strange behavioral problem of their Graboid and had run into dead ends. Burt was obsessed by that worm, had been before, but this had given it all a new dimension. This had made it more personal than anything before.  
Tyler was at his side, a silent support as always, and ready to intervene if something launched Burt's temper off the scale. It had been obvious to Casey from day one that the two men, despite being so different, made a good team. And the differences weren't just the age and occupation. Where Gummer wasn't a people person, Tyler made friends easily. Where Burt shied away from 'invaders' into his territory, probably wishing he'd be left alone, Tyler approached newcomers, curious and helpful. But together, they were the perfect partners and they worked like a well-oiled machine – with a few upsets left and right of the track.  
When she had found out that there was even more between them, she had been only slightly surprised. Sure, Tyler had flirted with her the first day they had met, but that had mellowed out. He was a man, she was a woman, the initial reaction had been almost predictable. She had to confess he was also good on the eyes.  
"I checked several possibilities independently from each other in the last few days," Casey started. "Some of which Burt did, too. I took soil samples from the area where the plane crashed, as well as where Burt was attacked. I found no poisonous or foreign substance that could explain a change in El Blanco's behavior. I went through a list of food, climate, geological upheaval in this valley, as well as possible behavioral changes due to human presence."  
"We had that before, Casey," Tyler started. "We're not adversely affecting that worm."  
She smiled. "No, you're not. Tell me, guys, has El Blanco ever attacked any one of you? I mean freely, without being forced by poison or outside influence like a machine?"  
The two men looked at each other, then Tyler shook his head.  
"I don't think so. Why do you ask?"  
Casey leaned back against the research desk. This would be difficult. "El Blanco is the oldest, living Graboid, am I correct?"  
Burt nodded. "Affirmative. He's an albino, apparently sterile and unable to go into the next stage of his development."  
"He was born in this valley with other Graboids, but except for him, all the others died and became Shriekers. He has been here for what? Two years?"  
Another nod.  
Casey crossed her arms. "That's way past the normal life expectancy and no one knows how old he'll get. At the end of its life cycle, a Graboid dies in order to spawn Shriekers. Even today we don't know what triggers it. Could be a biological imperative, could be brought on by enough food… or some other internal, metabolic cue, even the environment. El Blanco's still there. Alone.  
We also think Graboids are highly intelligent. They appear to possess memory; they learn from experience. Confronted with problems, a Graboid will try to solve them. And it usually will not be fooled more than once by the same deception."  
"You think he learned not to eat us?" Tyler asked, voice clearly showing his disbelief. "C'mon, doc, that's impossible!"  
"Is it?" she asked quietly, eyes on Burt who looked stunned. "I've gone through hundreds of texts about Graboids. Some of them are ludicrous, outright ridiculous, but there are others that seem to fit this event. Observers have documented several instances of Graboids traveling together, revealing a degree of socialization. They appear to act cooperatively for hunting, and may be able to communicate on some level. All these factors combine to make the Graboid a startlingly sophisticated creature, despite its primitive appearance."  
"So what are you saying?"  
"I think he adopted you."  
"He what?" Tyler blurted, looking from Casey to Burt and back again. "No way! He's not some kind of… dog or… cat!"  
"That's ridiculous!" Burt growled. "Graboids are predators, we're their prey."  
"No, it's perfectly logical. Think about it," she continued. "You protect that worm from whatever might happen to him. You're responsible for his health and safety, and you risked your own life repeatedly to keep him from harm. All of you. Graboids learn! He's lonely and you're the only constant around here. A constant who looks after him."  
"No!"  
"Burt, you live underground. You're the closest thing to a Graboid… for a Graboid."  
Tyler tried to suppress his laughter as he watched Burt fight for composure… and words. Gummer opened his mouth to protest, then snapped it shut, shooting Casey dark looks. The expression on his face was almost comical.  
"When he was sick… he came to town. He knew he could expect help! When someone knocked him out to open him up, Tyler defended him!" Casey went on, voice intense. "You are his protection and he protects you in turn. His own way."  
"So why pull Burt off a rock and then just sit there?" Tyler asked, still looking slightly amused.  
"Maybe to show his peacefulness openly."  
"A Graboid is not a peaceful creature!" Burt snapped angrily. "They are dangerous! They could easily wipe out mankind on the top of the food chain if we don't control them! And the only way is to kill them outright before they turn into Shriekers."  
"Yes, they are dangerous, and El Blanco still is, and unless I can test my theory, I wouldn't advise on going out there without precautions."  
"I never do," Burt muttered indignantly.  
Casey smiled. "I know."  
"And I'm not going to be some kind of test subject for you either!" he said testily.  
"I didn't imply it."  
The dark eyes seemed to drill holes into her and Casey gave him a disarming smile. "Burt, it's just a theory, based on facts I've collected. Viable facts. It's all I can give you in ways of an explanation for what happened to you out there."  
Burt pressed his lips together, eyeing Tyler for a moment, then he nodded. Wordlessly, he left the lab.  
Tyler flashed Casey a smile. "It makes a twisted kind of sense," he confessed.  
"Yes, it does, doesn't it? I just wonder what it means for all of you."  
"Well, if we're El Blanco's adopted family, maybe it makes Burt the alpha worm." Reed chuckled. "Casey, you... you don't have to share this with anyone, right? I mean, this is among us…?"  
She smiled. "Tyler, no one would believe me anyway. It's an outrageous theory. People living with wolves or whatever are one thing; a Graboid adopting humans? No…"  
"Yeah, well, let's keep it that way. I don't think we need the additional attention."  
"Unless I can prove something, there won't be any, Tyler," Casey promised. "I doubt I could convince Burt to do some tests with me."  
"Highly doubtful," Reed agreed.  
"So it's settled.  
"Thanks. Haveta go. Thanks for the effort. It's appreciated."  
Casey frowned thoughtfully and watched him go. What if El Blanco was truly looking for a family and had accepted the five men and women in Perfection as a substitute? He understood protection and he had, in a way, protected them, too. It would shed a whole new light on Graboids and their intelligence.

* * *

"She thinks we're what?" Rosalita exclaimed.  
"Some kind of surrogate Graboid family," Tyler sighed, pushing his fingers through his hair. "Sounds weird, but look at it. El Blanco has never been aggressive against any one of us since he came to live here. He even helped us out in his own way… eating up some Vegas criminals or the guy who forced him into his feeding frenzy."  
"Well, he did attack me on my ranch!" Rosalita protested.  
"Because he was forced," Nancy said calmly. "It was that machine and what it did to his brain. He couldn't stop himself from feeding. It wasn't his choice."  
"And he tried to eat 4-12," Tyler added. "He regurgitated him only because that thing tasted vile even for a Graboid."  
"He was lured into town because of that thing running around," Rosalita said dismissively.  
Jodi walked over to them, carrying a pot of coffee. "Somehow what Tyler says makes sense," she confessed and sat down. "He passes through town at least once a day, maybe twice. He knows where we are, we are easy prey, and he never did anything to us. And remember those protesters and how they tried to poison him? He came here. And before that, when he had just hatched…"  
Tyler shot her a questioning look. "What, Jodi?"  
"I mean, now it makes some really weird sense. Burt had this watch, a gift from the gauchos he said. It sent out ultrasonic signals and it attracted El Blanco. We were stuck on some rocks for a whole night because he was circling us, following Burt's moves, reaching for him. We distracted him with Burt's car and that was that – until the junkyard. El Blanco came again, probably attracted by the ruckus. Ate the Assblaster Jack had stuck the watch to."  
Tyler chewed on his lower lip. "Ultrasonic signal, hm?"  
"Yes. It was like he became fixated on Burt early on because of the watch. He was attracted to it. He never attacked, just kinda checked it out."  
"So if Graboids communicate, maybe ultrasonically," Tyler spun the theory on, "he might have taken it as another Graboid calling. In a different language than he understood, but he was curious."  
"He nearly ate Burt," Jodi said wryly. "I don't call that communicating."  
"Maybe he wasn't out to eat him," Tyler mumbled, frowning. "I mean, back then, all the other Graboids were gone, had turned into Shriekers. El Blanco was alone and he moved toward the only ultrasonic signal left – the watch."  
"What about his attack at the junkyard?"  
"He might have been attracted by the ruckus and it could have been very confusing for him. He was young, without other Graboids all of a sudden, and Burt was calling him. I mean, if there's one human being left in the whole wide world, we'd try to talk to him, even if we speak another language."  
Jodi looked thoughtful. "Might've been. All the noise from our fight against the Assblasters confused him, he grabbed the last Assblaster and the Assblaster fought back."  
"So El Blanco somehow imprinted on Burt, willingly or unwillingly?" Nancy asked, eyes wide.  
"Yeah, looks like it."  
Rosalita frowned and played with her mug. "I'm not very comfortable with some worm thinking of me as his little sister… then eat me if I misbehave," she muttered.  
"Think of how Burt must feel," Nancy said softly.  
They all looked at each other, then at Tyler, who wordlessly raised his eyebrows at them and sipped at his coffee.  
"So… now what?" Jodi wanted to know.  
"Nothing," was the simple answer. "We act like before. El Blanco isn't a tame animal and we treat him with the same caution and vigilance as before."

* * *

Burt sat in his truck, looking out over the deserted landscape, listening to the noise of the insects and birds. There was no one around him for miles. He was at the farthest end of Perfection Valley.  
Casey's words still haunted him, as did the Graboid attack. It hadn't been the first time a Graboid had tried to take a piece out of him, but each time it had been born from the predatory instinct of a mindless creature out to feed. It hadn't been what Dr. Matthews called a conscious act from an intelligent being. Burt knew Graboids, Shriekers and Assblasters were intelligent, could learn, could evolve their tactics, but none had ever not killed a human being it had had in its clutches.  
El Blanco could have eaten him.  
Just like that; get it over with. His greatest adversary.  
The one with the concussion grenades who had spoiled his hunting so many times before. The one who had soured his taste for tourists on the Adventure Tours for a while.  
But also the one who had kept him alive, who protected him, together with everyone else who lived in Perfection. Burt had to smile slightly at a particular memory. Sitting on a rock, the remote-controlled toy car with the three ultra-sonic watches attached, and El Blanco. The Graboid had slowly followed the toy, never attacked, just circled and moved parallely. He had never made a grab for the thing, though he had eaten the Assblaster with the watch attached to it.  
El Blanco had been attracted to the watch, but every time he had just curiously checked the situation. The first time he had surfaced in front of Burt's bunker, like a grotesque whale out of a sea of sand. He had disappeared again. No attack. The second time had been at the rock, surfacing once more, making strange noises, but the tentacles had stayed inside. No rushing attack, no hunting frenzy. Just… checking. And throughout that time Miguel and Jack and Jodi and him had been stuck on that rock, El Blanco had always just carefully checked the situation. Poking a tentacle out of the sand… sniffing like a dog.  
And finally, the toy car. He had surfaced again after Melvin had arrived, but not swallowing the car with the watches. Just showing himself, scaring the shit out of Melvin, much to Burt's amusement. After that he had just circled the rock with the little turd on it while Burt had driven away.  
Casey was right that they lived in a weird kind of symbiosis. The creature that could easily eat them was also their protection – but so far Burt had only seen it from the Endangered Species Act kind of view. As long as El Blanco was alive, no one could turn this valley into some kind of development land to build homes or a mall or something else. Burt intended to keep that worm alive as long as possible.  
Had El Blanco realized that fact? Had he become aware of his protectors as more than just available food? He had truly never voluntarily attacked any of them.  
Burt gazed at the sky, seeking answers where none could be found.  
He was severely shook up, even freaked. This was new, this was out of his control, and he didn't like it. Not one single bit. Burt Gummer had prepared himself his whole life for whatever could be thrown at him, even Graboids. But this… nothing could have prepared him for this.

He drove back around dusk and it was already dark when he arrived at the bunker. Everything was silent and he closed the gate behind him, parking the car next to the entrance.  
What didn't surprise him was that Tyler was there. Asleep in front of the TV, but he was there. Burt smiled slightly and slipped out of his combat vest. Tyler suddenly started and his eyes flew open. He gazed at Burt, then smiled.  
"Hey."  
"Hey," Burt replied, nodding once as he walked past the easy chair and into the bathroom to take a shower. He was covered in dust.  
When he came out, Tyler was sitting on the bed, legs crossed at the ankles, studying him. Burt, clad only in his towel, returned the gray gaze. Tyler didn't ask, but the questions were readable in his eyes. Burt answered the same, wordless way.  
He was confused, unsure, and off balance. So was Tyler.  
Gummer sat down on the bed, running a hand through his damp hair.  
"Burt?" Tyler asked quietly.  
"I don't know," he confessed. "That never happened to me before."  
"What? Not knowing something or befriending a giant worm?" his lover joked gently.  
Burt shot him a disgusted look. "El Blanco is no one's friend!"  
"Well, if Dr. Matthews's right… he accepted us as part of his habitat."  
Burt snorted. "I don't find that very reassuring."  
Tyler moved to sit beside him. "Doing what we can with what we got," he quoted his lover. "Right now, we have to make do with what little information we have, Burt. Maybe it's just a phase."  
"I'm not so sure," Gummer murmured.  
"Well, out here there's never a hundred percent certainty. You want one hundred percent, you move into civilization."  
Burt shot his lover a look and smiled slightly. "Not in a million years."  
Tyler leaned over and stole a kiss. "Thought as much. How about you get some sleep and I'll head back to town? You really need to get rest, Burt. You're running on empty."  
The older man looked at him, his exhaustion visible in his eyes, but there was a silent determination that scared Tyler. It was something like an eternal fire, deep down inside Burt that couldn't be extinguished, only fed. And El Blanco's strange behavior was feeding it quite badly.  
"Please," he said softly, voice dropping a little into a soothing tone.  
After what seemed to last for minutes but were only seconds, Burt nodded.  
Tyler breathed a silent sigh of relief. At least for tonight.

* * *  
   
It had been quiet in Perfection Valley for a week. Exactly the week Burt Gummer hadn't been home and Tyler wanted nothing more but have his lover back. Not that he didn’t mind a little peace and quiet every now and then, but this… silence was eerie. El Blanco didn’t so much as start a single tremor, not to mention make an appearance. He had had three tours and the worm hadn’t shown up, which left the tourists disappointed. Tyler had been to Burt’s bunker one evening to check on their Graboid’s doings and found El Blanco was hovering around the southern end of the valley, unmoving, which had Tyler worried a bit. Blanco not moving could be a bad sign.  
He had driven out to the spot, checking on whether their resident Graboid had come down with something. It might explain his strange behavior. Tyler hadn't found a worm in its death throes, or howling madly, or making any kind of weird noise. He had found that El Blanco was lying in wait, underground, not moving. Not even the arrival of the tour truck had roused an interest.  
Okay, another addition to the Diary of Weirdness…  
He had monitored El Blanco from then on, for the rest of the week. The creature had moved only a few meters, hadn't so much as chased a car or hiker, and what he actually ate was anyone's guess. As if he was waiting or guarding… Now where had that thought come from?  
Burt returned four days later and it was the moment the shapeless blob that signaled their Graboid moved, too. Tyler could only stare at the readings, unable to comprehend anything any more.  
Gummer came straight into town, not stopping at the bunker first or taking off after a quick refill. He actually sat down, read his mail, talked a little, drank his coffee, and then accompanied Tyler over to the garage.  
"How was Vegas?" Tyler asked curiously.  
"Loud, bright, full."  
"Well, it's Vegas, Burt. Civilization."  
"Which is why I appreciated the immediate retreat into the desert," Burt added, smiling slightly.  
"Yeah, thought as much. So, found any guns you liked?"  
A sharp nod. "I got myself some nice specimens."  
Tyler smiled to himself. It was like listening to a biologist talking about his collection of butterflies or something. He was just about to launch into his report of the week, mentioning El Blanco's strange behavior, when the wrist seismos started to beep frantically, closely followed by the well known trembling of the ground, El Blanco’s trademark. Burt sighed soundlessly and pulled Tyler closer to his body, nuzzling his neck. Tyler shivered, shooting his lover a dark look – if he made a sound now it would only attract the worm. It didn't seem to discourage the taller man.  
The beeping and shaking stopped and Tyler turned into his lover’s arm to catch the tormenting lips into a full welcome home kiss.  
"That was not nice," he muttered.  
Burt didn't even comment, but the expression in his eyes said it all.

* * *

Burt walked to his truck, still parked in front of Jodi's store, Tyler at his side. He was about halfway between the garage and the store when it happened. Something shot out of the ground, wrapping itself around his calf, but instead of the expected jerking motion, it just stopped him mid-step.  
Gummer froze.  
Tyler stared at him, mouth open in an unvoiced yell, looking at his seismo in disbelief.  
It hadn't registered El Blanco at all. The Graboid had apparently come to rest just underneath the street, waiting… for Burt. Now it held on to the man and Gummer's face showed the terror he felt.  
Then the earth started to move. Not in tremors, but in a heap as the head of the Graboid pushed up behind his lover while still almost gently holding Burt.  
Tyler held the dark, terrified gaze, Burt rooted to the spot just a few steps away from him, his heart hammering in his chest. He watched in mounting horror as the Graboid appeared, jaws open, one tentacle holding Burt, the other two not even partially extended.  
"Burt…" he whispered.  
Burt didn't move, didn't even turn his head, until there was a loud snort and a plume of dust rose. Then he did turn his head and his face lost all color. El Blanco was within touching distance, the huge maw barely a meter away from Burt, and Tyler felt cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.  
They had no gun, no grenade, nothing.  
And then the rumbling started. A deep, almost guttural sound that seemed to travel through the ground and up his legs. Burt's eyes were closed, his teeth clenched, his hands balled into fists, and he looked like a ghost.  
El Blanco made a whining sound, then the tentacle released Gummer, slowly retreating into the lethal maw. The Graboid remained aboveground a few seconds longer, then almost elegantly glided back into the hole.  
Only now was Tyler aware of Jodi and Nancy screaming their names. His eyes were still on his lover and he closed the distance the moment Burt took a stumbling step forward. His legs gave way and the taller man just collapsed onto his knees, coming to sit on the hard ground, right next to the hole El Blanco had left in the middle of the street.  
"Burt?" Tyler asked, voice shaky.  
Horrified dark eyes gazed at him out of a ghostly pale face, seeking answers, reassurance, anything. All Tyler could give him was human contact and it was gladly taken.  
"Oh my god!" Jodi's voice carried over to them as she ran to the two men. "Oh my god! I don't believe it! Burt, are you okay? Tyler?"  
Neither man answered, but Tyler knew Burt was far from okay.

* * *

“Damn this creature to hell!”  
Burt was swearing. And pacing. And swearing. Tyler watched his lover walk a few steps, sit down, then jump up and pick up the pace again.  
“He came here. Into town! Attacked me!”  
“He didn’t attack you, Burt,” Tyler cut in quietly.  
Not that he didn’t feel like pacing, oh no. Seeing a Graboid slide out of the ground behind Burt in slow motion, the deadly jaws slightly open and one of its tentacles wrapped around his leg had been one of the creepiest thing he’d ever experienced. And the sounds – he had thought he knew every noise El Blanco was able to make. Seemed he knew shit! Bad thing, dangerous, too.  
“Well, what do you call a Graboid tongue wrapped around my leg? A Graboid behind me? Above ground?” Burt's eyes held a wild expression.  
“What do you call a Graboid leaving you alone? He didn’t attack you, this wasn’t his hunting MO, Burt.”  
“Slippery S.O.B. sneaked up on me – again!”  
“And he let you go – again. If Casey’s right and … “  
“No, she’s not right! No way I’m being adopted by a… “ Burt stopped, breathing hard, unable to say it out loud.  
“What if you are?” Nancy asked. “What if we all are. You have to admit you do have a relationship to that worm.”  
Burt snorted.  
“Well, sort of," she conceded. "You take care of him. Maybe he was just checking on you or something.”  
“Right. Nancy, listen to yourself. El Blanco is a predator, I am his food. No tiger or wolf checks on his next meal.”  
“He didn’t eat you.”  
“And that’s what's bothering me! Something's wrong with that Graboid and I intend to find out what it is.”  
And with that Burt stormed out of the shop, stalking over to the garage where he had left his truck. Tyler exchanged worried glances with the women, and sped up.  
“Burt! Hey, Burt, wait up!”  
Gummer had already reached his truck and was starting to prepare himself for what looked like a long night, checking his equipment.  
“Burt, what the hell are you doing?”  
“Tyler, that worm is not behaving normally and I want to know why. A man has to know…”  
“…his terrain, I know that." Tyler nodded in agreement. "Burt, you just came back home, you’re tired, you just got scared shitless. Well, I got. I want to know what’s going on with El Blanco too, but tomorrow's another day. Tonight I… I want you all for myself. You know I don’t share.”  
Burt stopped for a second, then continued. “You don’t have to.”  
“Yes, well, obviously I do. With a Graboid who has adopted you as his alpha worm or something.” Tyler gave him a little smile.  
Burt shook his head, looking serious and determined. “That's an unverified theory, Tyler. If El Blanco's not behaving like himself it might affect other life forms, too. It might affect us.” Burt slid into the driver’s seat and pushed his sunglasses higher, looking at Tyler expectantly. “Are you coming with me?”  
Tyler hesitated a second, then walked around the truck. If he wanted to keep an eye on his lover this was the only possibility. Burt Gummer wouldn’t sleep tonight. Then so wouldn’t he.

* * *

Tyler didn't know what to do any more. Burt was obsessed with El Blanco. Sure, he had been before, but this was bordering to dangerously ridiculous. His lover was out in the valley day in and day out. He was barely at his home, he was watching El Blanco with all kinds of equipment, and when he stopped by the Store it was to refill the truck or have a coffee.  
Everyone was worried about their resident survivalist, not just Tyler. More than once Jodi shot Reed a questioning look, but he couldn't tell her any news. He hadn't talked to Burt for ages, it seemed. Sometimes they ran into each other at the bunker. Burt no longer slept at Tyler's place for even one night, always needing to be close to his equipment.  
And it worked in Tyler. It ate away at him. Watching Burt self-destruct because of some change in El Blanco's behavior.  
Well, okay, so it was a rather monumental change and it involved Burt deeply, but still…  
Tyler had gone and talked to Casey, but she hadn't been able to help or shed a new light on things. It was rather frustrating.  
He had managed to lure his lover into bed with him only once. Burt had been at his usual place in front of his monitors, watching every move from that animal Tyler was coming closer to hating with each new day. They hadn’t been together for a longer time now and just looking at the man he loved made Tyler's heart ache, not to mention other parts of his body. Their relationship wasn't a purely physical one, but lately, in the last weeks to be precise, there had been no relationship at all – not even the physical one. And Tyler wanted the man, wanted him badly.  
So he just stepped up to Burt and whirled him around in his chair.  
“Tyler! I’m right in the… “  
Tyler just gave his lover a grin and slowly went down on his knees in front of him, hands wandering up his inner tights, parting them in the process. He smiled at the slight gasp when he reached the fly, opening it slowly.  
“Tyler, what are you doing?” Burt demanded, eyes wide.  
“What does it feel like?” he whispered, one hand sliding inside the now open pants.  
“Tyler, I don’t… “  
The sentence was ended abruptly with a little sigh as Tyler bent forward and took his lover into his mouth. Fingers unbuttoning the shirt he let his hands wander over soft skin, caressing and teasing, taking in every sigh, every pant. Feeling a hand softly running through his hair he looked up and smiled again. Burt, leaning back in his chair, eyes closed, shirt hanging open and legs spread, looked relaxed and excited at the same time. And damn sexy, too!  
This was what Tyler had wanted for such a long time, this was what he needed. He wanted his lover back, not someone who was closer to a Graboid in every way than to a human being.  
“Come to bed, Burt. Want you… “ Tyler whispered and was rewarded with a hot look from dark, clouded eyes.  
Tyler was glad the bedroom wasn’t far, because his lover didn’t waste time. Wrapping his legs around the lean waist, moaning, sobbing, meeting every sweet thrust that sent him even higher until he cried out, hearing Burt moan softly and feeling the other man shudder, he pulled his head down into a kiss, hard and needy.  
Tyler closed his eyes and dozed off, feeling those beloved arms holding him tightly against a strong chest, he sighed in content.

\-- Only to wake up an hour later, alone, the spot beside him cold. The small ray of bluish light that could be seen through the half open door told him where Burt was. Looking through the door he found his lover in front of his monitors again, fully dressed already. Tyler shook his head in sad disbelief and returned to the bed silently, feeling something inside of him cringe in pain.  
He didn’t try it again. He knew he had lost Burt to something beyond his control, to something that had driven the man for a decade, but which Tyler had believed had mellowed in the last two years.  
Obviously he had been wrong.  
Instead he kept waking up to empty beds or his lover just stumbling in from the outside after another night out in the desert, looking like death warmed over – working himself into a frenzy only he understood. Their relationship was close to non-existent by now and the strain was getting to them both, each in his own way.  
Until the explosion happened.  
"You can't let this dominate your life!"  
"I heard that line before! Just before Heather left me. Tell me, Tyler, are you leaving?"  
Tyler met the wild look calmly, looked into the haggard face, took in the deep lines and shadows. "Yes, I'm leaving. But I'm staying in town. I'm just leaving this place. You've got to make a decision, Burt. I'll still be around, I still love you, but I can't go on living like this. You’re not with me anymore, even when you are with me, which is rare enough. You’re not making love to me, you’re not even fucking me. You’re always with that worm, and like I said before – I don’t share. Not like this."  
Tyler turned around and started to walk to his jeep. It was the hardest decision he had ever had to make.  
"Wonderful! Now the damn worm managed to destroy my life once again!" Burt yelled.  
Tyler turned on his heels, eyes flashing, feeling his own temper rise even higher. "Don't blame El Blanco, Burt! He's got nothing to do with it. This is all your doing! Yours alone. You decide if you want to hole up here, obsess about something we can't explain, and be alone! You know where to find me!"

Burt stood like struck by lightning, watching his lover leave. Something inside of him clenched painfully and he wanted nothing more than to call out for Tyler to stop, not to go away, but no words left his mouth.  
Damn worm!  
And then the anger evaporated all of a sudden.  
No, not the worm. Not El Blanco. Him… He had done this. He had fallen back into the trap that had destroyed his marriage so many years ago. Now it was attacking his relationship with Tyler, the man he loved – his second chance in life.  
Burt swallowed.  
His one and only second chance…

He spent the night sitting at the perimeter of his habitat, wrapped up tightly against the cold, just staring out into the night. Somewhere out there El Blanco was hunting or sleeping or whatever the cursed worm was up to. His adversary, his white whale, as Poffenberger had once put it. A creature he feared and respected, hated and protected. Something he would kill without obvious remorse if El Blanco ever crossed the line, but also something he had nearly died for on a few occasions. It was a paradox.  
A paradox he was obsessing over; a Graboid.  
One single Graboid that ensured he could keep his way of living, a Graboid he protected against outside influence, a Graboid that had twice seemed to attack him… and had let him live. A creature that had confused him so greatly that he had let something slide and slip away that meant the world to him – Tyler Reed.  
He loved Tyler. He really did. He wanted the younger man at his side, wanted to hear his input, wanted to feel his presence, wanted to be with him. All he had managed was to drive him away.  
Because of El Blanco.  
Burt was aware of the changes that had happened within the last two years, starting with the arrival of Tyler Reed. His catalyst, his living buffer, his shield and his translator. Someone who immediately stepped between opposing parties and tried to mediate.  
Gummer smiled slightly. He had never been someone to analyze himself, but he knew for a fact that Tyler Reed had changed him and his perception of many things.  
Someone who was as independent as he himself and who still spent so much time with Burt. Who supported him, who kept him balanced, who represented the outside world and made it bearable to Burt.  
Now he had left.  
Burt shivered and it wasn't the night air. It was something deep inside him that felt cold.

* * *

Three days had passed since Tyler had spat out those angry words to his lover and it was like in a haze for him. Nancy had almost immediately picked up on the change in him and she had carefully inquired into what was wrong. Tyler had been rather cryptic, but he knew that the older woman was probably aware of what had happened. The whole town had watched Burt obsess about the Graboid more and more, estranging himself from not only every single resident, but especially his lover.  
Tyler didn't talk to any of the women and buried himself in work. The garage had never been so clean and well-organized, the jeep was polished and in perfect working order, and he had started to work on renovating the living quarters behind the garage. El Blanco was making a visit once in a while, but never stopped again. One day Tyler found the half empty whiskey bottle he had wrenched out of Burt’s hands -- when had that been? Three weeks ago? Tyler didn’t exactly know, and he didn’t want to think about it. Sinking down on his bed he stared at the bottle for a whole minute. Then he opened it.

It was on day four that the garage doors opened and Tyler, covered from head to toe in oil and dust, froze. Burt stood in the doorway, dressed in his sand-colored camouflage pants, his trademark vest and a dark, long-sleeved shirt. He looked tired, thin, and… in pain.  
Tyler almost automatically took several steps toward him, drawn to the pain he radiated, then stopped.  
Both men looked at each other, silent, two pairs of different eyes meeting. Burt hadn't slept in three days, Tyler realized, and he hadn't slept a lot before. He was running on empty now; for real.  
And he wasn't a man who was good when it came to emotions, or talking about them. Tyler could count the occasions Burt had been open and accessible on one hand.  
"I…" Burt started, voice sounding rough, as if he hadn't used it for a while. "You were right," he finally whispered. "I let him control my life."  
He always controlled you life, Tyler thought, keeping his silence, eyes on his lover. Damn, the man looked bad.  
"I love you," Burt said, voice trembling as his body swayed.  
Tyler closed the last distance and reached for the taller man, feeling the tremors racing through him. He was extremely close to a breakdown.  
"Come with me," he just said, leading his unresisting lover to the bed.  
Tyler stripped off the vest and the boots, then pushed him back. Burt's eyes were on him, silently asking, needing.  
"I just need to get a bit cleaner," Tyler whispered, smiling. "Then I'm there."  
He washed off most of the grime with a towel and stripped off his work overall. Burt was still awake, gazing at him as Tyler entered the room. The younger man climbed into the bed and Burt almost automatically rolled closer, wrapping his arms around Tyler's waist. Tyler dropped a gentle kiss onto the balding head.  
"Sleep," he just said, stroking him soothingly.

Watching the man in his arms, listening to his breathing deepening, indicating that he indeed had gone to sleep, Tyler snuggled closer to the warm body. They hadn’t found any answers as to why their local Graboid had acted that out of the ordinary. On the other hand – this was Perfection. Out of the ordinary was ordinary out here. It was anyone’s guess if El Blanco would continue to act like he had, would continue to sneak up on Burt or not, but at the moment Tyler didn’t give a damn. As long as Burt was where he was now – at his side – he would remain where he was.  
“You’ve come a long way, Burt Gummer,” he whispered to the sleeping man.  
Love you.  
And then he closed his eyes, just holding the man who had become more dear to him than he had ever imagined.

* * *

Burt had slept through the rest of the day, as well as the night, without waking once. It spoke of his deep exhaustion, his need for sleep, and Tyler let him. He had sat with the sleeping man for a while, then gone over to the store for some coffee, food and talk, and had returned to find Burt still sleeping. Tyler had simply stripped off and climbed into bed with him.  
The morning started with the pleasant feeling of a body close by – a naked body, his waking mind registered – skin against skin, and a hand drawing lazy patterns on his stomach. A hand that wandered up and down his sides, greeted his nipples and finally his more southern regions. Lips descended on his, claiming a kiss Tyler was only too willing to give, and he bucked into the strong hand currently stroking him.  
"Mornin'," Burt whispered huskily.  
Tyler smiled. "Very good mornin'," he agreed, then groaned as the magic hand did some really wonderful things.  
When he came, crying out, Burt silenced the scream with a kiss, blanketing his spent body. Dark eyes looked into sated gray ones and Tyler let himself drift in the satisfaction he felt. It took a while for him to become completely coherent again, but Burt never moved out of bed or away from him.  
"I love you, Tyler," he said as the younger man blinked lazily at him. "More than anything. More than needing answers."  
Tyler ran a gentle hand over Burt's side, silent, listening.  
"I wanted answers and not finding them… it made me crazy. I couldn't find what I needed and I lost what I had. I never realized how much I needed just that… because I was so blind."  
Tyler gazed at the older man, aware of what Burt was saying.  
"I lost Heather to the worms… I don't want to lose you, too."  
Tyler met the dark gaze calmly. "You won't – if you stop pursuing this windmill, Burt. You have to accept that whatever is going on with El Blanco, you can't force the answers."  
Burt nodded jerkily. "I knew that. I just… couldn't accept it."  
Okay, it was confession time today. Burt was in a rare, open mood; a vulnerable mood.  
Tyler pressed a kiss to his lips and smiled. "Can you now?"  
Gummer sighed. "As hard as it is, I'll have to."  
"But can you?"  
He nodded slowly. "I won't lose you to it," Burt repeated.  
The younger man pillowed his head on his lover's shoulder and felt hands caressing his back. He still was too lazy to get up.  
Burt's words were a promise, a vow.  
He believed it.

* * *

The drive to Bixby had been eventless and picking up the cartons for Jodi was almost a bore, Tyler thought as he steered the red pick-up back to Perfection. And it had shown him again how much he liked the reclusive town in the box canyon known as Perfection Valley. Bixby wasn't a town like Vegas, but it had its share of civilization drawbacks. He had made the run into town for Jodi's sake, who had run out of merchandise earlier than expected and it was still two weeks until the regular delivery truck would arrive. The company running the deliveries would have charged an exorbitant fee, so Tyler, who wanted to go into town anyway, had brought Jodi's items along, too.  
Driving past the warning sign that had made him stop and take a picture nearly two years ago – and had cost him his beloved car – Tyler smiled to himself. It felt like a lifetime ago, and judging by what had happened in such a short time, it was. It was also another life, one he no longer wanted to go back to, one he didn't miss, and one he couldn't believe had ever been his way.  
A sight at the edge of the road just a few hundred meters ahead had him frown, and he slowed down.  
"Damn tourists!" he muttered as he pulled over.  
About three meters away from the road, right in the middle of Graboid Country, parked a blue Ford. The doors were wide open, music was blasting, and two people were shouting at each other. The one outside the car was a man in his mid-thirties, wearing a Vegas souvenir shirt, a baseball cap that declared him a visitor to the Luxor Gift Shop, and jeans. He was yelling at the woman inside the car, who had her arms crossed in front of her chest, looking completely pissed.  
"Hey!" Tyler yelled and jumped out of the pick-up.  
The man glared at him. "What do you want?"  
"I'm about to ask you the same," Tyler shot back. "Don't you know it's dangerous to be off the road!"  
"I was just taking a leak!"  
"He's an asshole is what he is!" the woman shouted.  
Tyler looked back and forth between the two. "How about you take the show back to the road, people…"  
"You keep out of it, cowboy," the man growled.  
"Tell him what a dusty, boring place Perfection is!" the woman demanded, leaning over the driver's seat. "I'm not going on some backwater tour to see nothing but desert if I can sit in an air-conditioned casino and sip drinks!"  
"You had your casinos already!" came the heated reply. "And I've had it with casinos and shows and drinks! You agreed to it!"  
"I did not!"  
That was when the wrist seismo began to beep alarmingly. Tyler's head snapped around, gray eyes scanning the horizon. Not far away he discovered the telltale movement under the ground that announced El Blanco's arrival.  
"Damn!"  
"What is it? Is it the Graboid?" the man asked excitedly.  
"Yes. Now get back here!"  
"But I came here to see it!"  
"You'll see his insides if you don't run!" Tyler snapped.  
The ground rippled as El Blanco came closer and Tyler pushed the man ahead of himself. The man's eyes were wide all of a sudden and then he started to run.  
The woman was screaming at him to get back and Tyler saw the ground move to his left – and froze. The man made it into his car with El Blanco almost lazily following him to the street, not even making a grab for the car, then circle back. The car high-tailed it out of the desert and onto the paved road.  
He didn't stop.  
He just drove like hell.  
And Tyler stood still, breathing hard, staring at the pick-up on the road – his safety. A place he couldn't reach.  
Because El Blanco was sitting right between him and it.  
Something broke through the ground just left of his feet. It was the small 'head' of one tongue, brushing over the dusty earth, searching… Like a scent dog sniffing for prey, he thought, and it was close to his left boot. Very close...  
Tyler tried not to breathe, not to move, and he frantically went through a mental list of what to do.  
Throw something, he thought. Distract him.  
But he had nothing on him.  
Except the wrist seismo.  
Carefully, fingers steadier than he would have thought, he undid the wrist band, then tossed the watch out into the desert. The second the tentacle head disappeared again, he started to run –  
\-- only to be felled by a whip-like tongue shooting up underneath him and wrapping itself around his waist.  
Tyler cried out in surprise and the brief pain of a hard landing on the ground. A second cry was torn from his lips when the ground opened up and El Blanco pushed through his head, two more tentacles whipping toward him.  
That's it. I'm dead, he thought. Oh gawd…  
A second tentacle wrapped itself around his left leg, the little mouth snapping open and close, but it didn't bite him. The one around his waist was tight, making it a bit difficult to breathe, while the third lay close to his head, almost lolling.  
And just an arm's length away were the open jaws of El Blanco.  
Tyler was petrified, wide eyes on his imminent death, wanting to scream but no sound came out. And El Blanco didn't make a move. Only the tongues moved, almost like snakes, contracting briefly, then loosening once more, curled around him in a surreal embrace.  
It was so much like Burt's encounter, a part of Tyler realized as he lay there, waiting – for what?  
"Holy shit," he whispered, voice rough.  
A puff of dust rose into the air and a gurgling rumble could be heard. The huge jaws opened slightly and Tyler automatically held up his arms protectively, hands brushing over one hard jaw fragment.  
El Blanco made another rumble.  
"What's going on here?" Tyler whispered to himself. "This isn't normal. It's freaky. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate not getting eaten, but what's wrong with you?"  
He was talking to a worm.  
Ah hell, why not? He usually talked when he was nervous or frightened, and he was scared shitless right now.  
"You think I'm Burt? Listen, I'm not, so how about you release me?"  
The third tongue came closer and Tyler found himself eye-to-mouth with the small head, able to see the two rows of tiny teeth, the four flexible looking spikes, and in a detached way he thought that the tentacles looked like an elephant's trunk.  
A jerk from the two tentacles holding him tightly brought him back to reality and he gave an involuntary yell of fear. His hands clawed at the restricting length of muscles around his waist, trying to push them off. It was futile, he knew, but it was automatic. El Blanco rumbled, moving his head a little and he was pulled along, his back scraping painfully over the desert ground.  
"Shit!" he gasped.  
So he was going to get eaten.  
The third tentacle suddenly brushed over his bare arm and Tyler shuddered at the weird feeling. Very warm, heavy, muscles move underneath the leathery skin. The snapping little mouth came close to his neck and he flinched back as much as was possible in the tight hold. Then it wrapped around his bare forearm for a few seconds, spreading the creepy feeling of touching a Graboid's tongue.  
El Blanco made a whining sound, blowing up more sand, then suddenly freed the downed man. It happened so abruptly, Tyler just lay there, stunned, wide eyes on the rapidly disappearing worm.  
And he was alone.  
Lying in the desert, next to a Graboid surface hole… alone and unharmed. His breathing came in harsh pants, he was shaking like a leaf, and his heart was racing.  
"Tyler!"  
He blinked at the voice screaming his name and suddenly a shadow fell over him.  
"Tyler, are you okay?" Burt demanded.  
He was armed to the teeth, his eyes hidden behind shades, and he was looking around carefully. Tyler swallowed, his throat dry, his voice gone. So he just nodded.  
He had to revise that opinion as Burt pulled him to his feet and his knees gave way.  
"Shit," he croaked.  
Gummer more or less hauled him to the street where Tyler gratefully sank onto the ground, leaning against a wheel of Burt's truck. A canteen was pushed into his by now shaking hands and he took a huge sip.  
"What happened?" Burt demanded as he closed the cap.  
"He had me," Tyler whispered. "Like with you… and just like with you he didn't do anything. He was so close…"  
Burt knelt next to him, shades off, the dark eyes holding a frightened expression. Tyler felt the same horror and his lover's eyes roamed over the dusty and torn clothes. One hand carefully pushed the t-shirt away from the stomach, reassuring himself that there were no injuries underneath the tears.  
"There was this couple, parking off the road," Reed mumbled. "Shouting, motor running, radio on… the lot. I tried to warn them, but El Blanco was there already, and he nearly had the guy, but he got away… and then he had me.  
He swallowed.  
"Now I know how you felt, Burt," Tyler managed. "He was so close… I touched his jaw…"  
"You what?"  
"When he moved his lower jaw, it bumped into my arm."  
Tyler trembled slightly and Burt cupped his face with his hands.  
"Did he harm you?"  
"No, I'm fine. Really. Just… shook up a little."  
"Can you drive?"  
Tyler nodded automatically. It wasn't that far until they were back home and he still needed to return the car.  
"I guess," he muttered.  
Burt's eyes were intense, serious, worried… and Tyler smiled reassuringly.  
"I can do it," he repeated.  
He made it over to Jodi's pick-up and started the engine. He felt shaky, adrenaline still rushing through his system, and he was glad when Burt pulled out first so he could follow. Somehow it was easier to just concentrate on the big truck ahead of him than the road.

* * *

Nancy was on her way over to Jodi's for a coffee and a chat when the two vehicles pulled up. She smiled, but her smile dropped when she discovered the condition of one driver.  
"Tyler? Oh my god, what happened?"  
Tyler was covered in a thick layer of dust from head to toe. His hair was tousled and streaked with more dust, the cap gone. The formerly blue shirt was ripped in places, just like his jeans, revealing unharmed skin. There was no blood she could see, but the shocked expression in her friend's eyes told her that something had happened.  
"Burt?" she demanded as Gummer came around the pick-up.  
"Couple of tourists were nearly worm chow," Burt said briskly. "Tyler was there to get them out, but he got caught."  
"By El Blanco?" she exclaimed.  
Tyler nodded. "And he didn't eat me. Like Burt…"  
Nancy's mouth hung open in shock. She looked at Burt for confirmation and the other nodded.  
"Now what?" she asked.  
"We should talk to Casey," Tyler said, still sounding rattled.  
"First you need a change of clothes," Nancy told the younger man.  
Tyler looked down his torn clothes. "Oh. Yeah. Right."  
Burt gave Nancy a long-suffering look, then gently pushed his partner toward the garage.  
"Uhm, could we… go to your place?" Tyler asked.  
Burt's brows shot up a little, then he twitched a smile. "Get in," he only said, nodding at his truck.  
The truck was just pulling out when Jodi exited the store. "Were that Tyler and Burt?"  
"Yes," Nancy answered.  
"What about my stuff?" Jodi looked at the pick-up. "Tyler promised to help unload it!"  
The older woman shook her head. "Jodi, Tyler was attacked by El Blanco and he did the same with Tyler as he did with Burt."  
Jodi's mouth opened and her eyes widened. "Say what?"  
"He had him, he didn't eat him."  
"Why?!"  
"That's the scary question."

* * *

"What's going with that worm?" Burt growled, staring at his monitors as if they held all the answers.  
Tyler, shaky and still a bit off balance from the experience – who wouldn't be? – watched his lover with a sinking feeling. He had showered, changed into clean clothes and thrown the old ones away. They were beyond hope. He had a few bruises to show from his tumble with the Graboid, but nothing serious. They would be gone in a few days.  
"Burt?"  
"I can't figure him out! It's not normal. First me… then you… what's next?"  
"Burt," Tyler tried again.  
"We're his damn prey! Graboids don't play with us, they eat us. He's not a pet!"  
Reed was silent now, sadness coursing through him. Here we go again, he thought. It won't stop. He's obsessed. He just won't give up.  
Tyler turned away and made his way back to the stairs. He'd sleep at the garage; just drive back and go to bed. He knew he'd be thinking about the events, but he wasn't as obsessed about them as his lover. El Blanco had let him live for some reason and it wasn't up to him to find the answers to that riddle. Not Burt's either, but his lover would be driven by this need to know.  
He couldn’t deal with this on top of what happened mere hours before. He needed to be away from here

Burt glared at the screen where El Blanco was a no show, then turned and discovered that Tyler wasn't there any more. A cold lump settled in his stomach for no reason and he ran up the stairs, catching his lover halfway between the jeep and the exit.  
"Tyler!"  
"I'm going home to get some sleep," Tyler said, voice flat, eyes empty.  
Home? Burt thought, fear crawling into him. Home?!  
"Tyler," he repeated, his voice softer this time, almost coaxing.  
The gray eyes said it all and it hurt Burt to see this pain, this resignation.  
"Stay?" he asked.  
"Will you?" Tyler asked in return.  
Burt was stunned, eyes widening slightly. He knew what the two words meant. Would he stay with Tyler or get up again and hunt for answers?  
"I will," he answered.  
Tyler's eyes searched his face and he met the gaze openly. Finally Tyler seemed to relax, the tension leaving his body, and Burt simply stepped forward, pulling him close.  
"I'm not sharing you with anyone," Burt murmured into the thick hair.  
He would leave the search for answers to Casey Matthews. There was something more important for him right here, in his arms, and Tyler was still shook up from the close encounter with El Blanco. Burt knew how he had felt and so far, his lover had held himself together pretty well.  
"C'mon," he murmured, tugging Tyler slowly back toward the bunker's entrance.  
Reed followed willingly and he didn't protest much when Burt pushed him into the bedroom.

The bad dreams that night were not unexpected, nor for the next nights to come. They weren't nightmares, but they were bad enough for Tyler to suddenly wake up and stumble into the kitchen for a glass of water after a few seconds of disorientation. Burt just waited for him to return, then pulled him close, wrapped him into his arms, and the rest of the night passed normally.

* * *

They drove out to the lab a day later and Casey listened attentively and with a lot less surprise than the last time as Tyler related the latest events. When he was finished, she looked thoughtfully at him.  
"Somehow, it all fits with my first analysis."  
"You said he was fixated on Burt," Reed argued.  
"Yes, but I didn't think to include the whole of Perfection Valley into my equation," Casey explained. "I'll use the family or pack analogy. In this case, Burt's the alpha, the leader. Tyler, you're most likely the alpha's partner, his mate. El Blanco would be the omega, the lowest rank in the pack, like a dog is in a human family. His pack."  
Burt shook his head in disbelief. "El Blanco is no dog!"  
"I only meant it as an analogy, Burt," she told him. "You're his family and he accepts you in different positions. Tyler told me that when you left the Valley for a week, El Blanco moved to the most southern part after two days."  
"You think he was waiting for me to return?" Burt mocked.  
"No, I think he was guarding your territory for you."  
"What?"  
Tyler frowned. "Well, it would make sense – staying with the pack analogy."  
Casey nodded, looking fascinated and excited in one. "You're the lead animal, Burt. You left your territory, which you've done before, but you stayed away longer than normal. So El Blanco took over the guard duty."  
"I'm not patrolling my territory!" Burt protested.  
"Oh?"  
Tyler smirked.  
"I'm only checking for Graboid activity, see if there's an unregistered fool out there tempting fate…"  
"You're guarding," Tyler chimed in.  
It got him a dark look. Burt huffed and tugged at his cap, leaning back against the lab's wall.  
"When you came back, El Blanco moved," Casey went on. "As for why he appeared in the middle of Perfection… Did you change your normal habit, Burt? Did anything differently?"  
He frowned. "What do you mean?"  
"What do you do when you come home to Perfection?"  
"You go up to the bunker," Tyler answered instead, looking at Gummer. "But you didn't. You came into town."  
Burt's frown deepened.  
"El Blanco was checking up on you," Casey added, smiling.  
"He wrapped his tongue around my leg!" Burt stated firmly. "I don't call that a welcome! I call that trying to feel me up as a snack!"  
Casey shook her head. "No. To stay with the pack analogy, let's look at wolves."  
"Let's not," Burt grumbled, earning him a long-suffering look from Tyler.  
"Wolves submit to their alpha by touching its muzzle. It's also a way of greeting and to uphold the social structure. We know Graboids are social, but no one has ever seen them act among each other."  
"Cause it would get you eaten," Burt growled.  
"Yes, most likely," she conceded. "But as the omega of the family unit, he would touch you to find out if something's wrong, your mood, anything. Graboids might use their tongue as sensing organs or to communicate to others of the same family group. Along with the sounds they make, that is."  
Burt looked slightly disgusted and still like he didn't want to believe a single word.  
“He might also try to attract your attention. How did you act around him when he was young? Was he as fixated on you back then as today? Did you in any way… well, play with him or something?”  
Burt stood dumbfound at the words. Play?  
“El Blanco is no pet! I’ve never played with him!” he finally protested.  
Really? Never? Again the memory – he in the desert, a toy car with remote control, ultrasonic watches tucked into it – and El Blanco following the thing. A Graboid was fast, almost as fast as a racing car, so the toy wouldn’t have been any challenge to him, even as young as he had been two years ago. But the worm had simply followed -- had followed wherever he had led him, like a … like a kitten with a string.  
Because he had been playing. Like any young animal would with his elder.  
With his “alpha”.  
With him.  
Burt groaned and sank onto the next best chair as the true meaning hit home.  
"I didn't play with him," he ground out.  
"But you spent time around him?" Casey asked.  
"To study him," was the tight reply.  
She smiled. "To him, it was attention. As for you, Tyler, he knows you, too. It might have to do with the conditioning Burt did a while back, using the sound of the tour jeep, as well as your voice."  
Tyler glanced at his lover who didn't comment, just scowl.  
"Graboids know the sounds of our voices, so I believe El Blanco can tell us all apart. When you saved that man in the desert, you said he reacted strangely, like he couldn't decide whether to pursue his prey or take you."  
Tyler nodded. "It looked like a half-hearted chase to me back then."  
"And then he touched you. He made contact."  
Tyler shivered slightly. "Yeah. Not something I wanna repeat."  
"You told me he jerked you around a little, but he didn't hurt you."  
Tyler shrugged.  
"And he let go all of a sudden – after brushing over your skin?"  
A nod.  
"Were you afraid, Tyler?"  
"Are you kidding?" he exclaimed. "I was scared shitless! You try lying in front of that worm, two tentacles wrapped around you and the third flopping toward your face!"  
Casey smiled calmingly. "I believe you. Now, if Graboids can sense with their tongues as delicately as I believe, then he tasted your fear. That's why he freed you – after playing with you."  
"All prey tastes of fear," Burt threw in.  
"Yes, but Tyler wasn't prey. He was the alpha mate. You don't eat family members. All he did was rough play. Animals do that, Burt."  
Gummer shook his head. "I don't buy this pack crap."  
"Well, all of this is an unverified theory," Casey agreed, "but it's the best I got without running field tests to prove it."  
"No way," came the immediate reply.  
"Thought as much. I'd advise treating El Blanco the way you did before. Be careful, tread cautiously, and don't let your guard down."  
Burt snorted, shooting her a look. "I never let my guard down," he stated.  
Tyler smiled, patting his shoulder. "Yep. Vigilance."  
Burt's expression held a warning not to tease more. Tyler grinned at Casey, then touched his hat.  
"Guess we'll be leaving now. Thanks for the update, doc."  
"My pleasure. Keep me informed."  
"Will do."

* * *

The truck was bouncing over the uneven road, the chain rattling with each pothole.  
"I don't believe this! I'm not some alpha in any group!" Burt muttered angrily, staring ahead onto the street.  
"Well, you are. To us."  
Burt stared at his lover. "What?"  
"To El Blanco you are, Burt."  
"No, no, no. You said to you."  
"Think about it, in a crisis, we listen to what you say. We do what you tell us to."  
"I'm no alpha!"  
"So, what are you then? Gung-Ho Gummer, the lone survivalist in his hill-top bunker? Get off it, Burt. No one believes it." Tyler grinned.  
Burt shot him a dark look. "This worm is no pack animal and I'm not it's handler!" he finally snarled. "Whatever it is that's wrong with him, it's not some kind of fondness of me or you or anyone of us!"  
"Burt, chill! We know. Just take it as it is, okay? He doesn't want to eat us at the moment, so go with the flow… It's nice as long as it lasts."  
"It's not good!" Burt raged on. "Whenever I think I've got that worm figured out, he throws me a curve ball! I hate surprises and lately, there were nothing but surprises!"  
"Down, honey," Tyler laughed.  
That had an immediate effect. Burt hit the brakes and the truck skidded to a hold.  
"Did you just call me honey?!" Gummer exploded.  
Tyler grinned broadly. "What if I did?"  
"Don't!" Burt snapped.  
"Why?"  
"Just don't if you value your life."  
"Yes, sir."  
"And don't 'sir' me either!"  
Tyler did the only thing he could, he smiled more, then leaned over and briefly kissed his enraged lover.  
"Okay, love."  
Burt breathed in deeply, then released that breath slowly, glaring at his lover, but he was visibly cooling down.  
"Uhm, Burt?" Tyler tried after a long moment of silence.  
"What?"  
"Could we continue this discussion elsewhere? Like… at home?"  
The dark eyes scrutinized him.  Finally Burt started the car and continued on his way back to the bunker. Tyler smiled, watching the features of his lover, quite aware of the thought processes going on behind that suntanned skin. No more words were exchanged until they arrived at the compound.  
"Burt?" Tyler asked as they left the car.  
"Hm?"  
"What's so wrong with being called the alpha of our little group?"  
Burt stopped and looked at him. "I'm no mindless pack animal.  
"I don't think Casey meant it like this. Look at it like this: you're the leader. And she's right. We look to you for guidance in a crisis or for protection against all the monsters out there. Everyone in his or her own way. You make all of this work."  
Burt gave him a critical frown. "I don't think so," he muttered and walked down the stairs, Tyler hot on his heels.  
"Yes, you do. Without you, there would be no Perfection. Someone like Melvin would have built his Ranchettes, or someone else would have made a theme park out of it. You're this Valley, Burt. Even El Blanco knows that."  
Burt stopped and looked at him, appearing thoughtful. His brows drew together and he seemed to mull it over.  
Tyler approached him. "It's true, Burt. So stop fighting it, stop trying to find a reason for El Blanco's change of moods. It might not last, it might be for the rest of his life. Just go with the flow. You can't change it."  
He wrapped his arms around the other man and kissed him. His hands slid deeper over his lover's butt and he pulled him in tight.  
"You're our alpha," Tyler murmured seductively. "My alpha…"  
The brown eyes lit up with a well-known fire and he smiled. "Really?"  
"Affirmative." Tyler squeezed the delightful butt.  
"Noted."  
The next kiss relayed much more and Burt pulled his younger lover with him as he maneuvered toward the bedroom. Tyler was more than willing to follow.


End file.
